David Millar (2) (1977–)

I am a big sports fan but I don't read many sporting biographies because in general they tend to be dull. The ones I do read I choose because the either the person has achieved something that really interests me or they have a story to tell. I recently read The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton and thought it was fantastic but I wanted to know more about the drug fueled era of pro-cycling. For this reason I opted for David Millar's book, his is a story that hasn't gained much coverage but he does seem to be a reformed character.

I don't like it when sporting biographies spend a long time describing a childhood, there usually isn't anything of particular interest and it feels like padding. In this book however there is an interesting childhood which is covered in just the right amount of detail. Being brought up in Hong Kong and the UK obviously shaped Millar a great deal and he also gives insights into how the transition from amateur to professional happens. It never occurred to me that young cyclists slum in on the European amateur scene trying to get picked up by a pro outfit.

There is a real human element to this book, Millar spends a long time talking about the isolation felt by many pro cyclists. They are often based somewhere away from their team and spend long amounts of time training alone. Centralised team bases and organised team training is something that has come about only fairly recently. Millar also explains in depth how doping was an ever present from the moment he turned pro. There was always an understanding that the teams knew and encouraged their riders to dope but would cast them aside if caught. It's made evidently clear that he didn't want to dope but there was no protection for young riders. Ultimately Millar accepts that is was his decision to dope and he should have been punished. It's also clear to see however that there is some bitterness that riders are punished but teams are not.

The latter chapters of the book cover his redemption and rehabilitation after his doping ban. Due to being naive and poorly advised he had an astronomic tax bill and lost everything. This in turn changed him from being, at his own admission 'a bit of a dick', to a more settled, reflective person. The story of his comeback is a really good read and shows that cycling hadn't learned from the doping of the past. He made it clear that he wanted to be on a non doping free team but this wasn't really supported by the team management. He also took the steps to report a team mate to his bosses and then the UCI for doping and nothing was done about it.

The book is mostly about him and his career but there are a few mentions of other rides who he met and worked with along the way. Of particular interest was his relationship with Bradley Wiggins which was fairly strained. Some of the character traits of Wiggins that he mentions have been seen this year with his results in the Giro and his pulling out of the Tour de France. The book was written before the whole Lance Armstrong saga but you can tell that he wasn't sure about Lance. He doesn't say that he thought Lance is doping, probably fearing a law suit, but the implication is that something wasn't right.

This is a fantastic heart felt book, Millar lets it all out and reveals everyting. I have read that he wrote most of the book himself and knowing how eloquent he is in interviews I can believe it.… (més)

Millar was one of the last British cyclists to go through the older system of being an amateur, before turning pro and being a domestique and main rider for the European teams. He is an immensely talented rider, and if British cycling had been in existence when he started I don’t think that he would have had all the problems with dope and drugs, that ended up with him being banned for two years.

For all that he has done, he is now a major ambassador for anti doping. In the book he talks of the omerta that exists in the teams, and between the teams and the UCI, even now. It will take a decade to clean the sport of cycling up, especially after the fallout from the Armstrong saga, but cycling is changing.

Really good book, a must read for all cycling fans.
… (més)